Much to "Wonder" about

One thing that is true about most middle schoolers is that at some point they are awkward.  There are those rare kids that are never awkward, that enter into middle school cute and leave beautiful.  But even those pass through a time of awkwardness... maybe not on the outside but most definitely on the inside.  There is some literature that is written for this age group seems to express this transition so well and when you read a book that touches your heart like this one, you want to tell the world.  We just finished a book that touched our hearts, Wonder by R.J. Palacio. My kids would say, you should read this book.  At the end of the book, Benji said, "I wish good books went on and on and never stopped."  I agree, it was hard to tell these characters goodbye, I even shed a tear or two or three.  I think its books like this that teach us compassion, empathy and beg us, as adults, to give our kids a vision, to share with them the hope for a future.

I really want to tell you everything about this book, but I can't, because you have to experience it for yourself.  You must jump in and laugh and cry and remember what it was to be in fifth grade, what it was to attempt the impossible task of trying to fit in.  But most of all you must meet Auggie, this young man that you will cheer for from beginning to end.  You will want to acquaint yourself to his mom and understand her hopes and dreams, her fears and worries.  You will love his friends and hate his friends and realize that at times the friendship you offer people has strings attached, your love is sometimes conditional.  I couldn't help asking myself, can a book like this help us to love others better, to understand their deepest needs and meet them better.  I don't know, but its worth a shot.

I must give a shout out to Ms. Palacio, way to hit it out of the park on your first book.  Thanks, for engaging our hearts and giving us much to talk about in our everyday life.